Islamabad: Pakistan’s aviation minister told parliament on Wednesday that a large number of commercial pilots hold fake licences or cheated in exams.
It comes as an initial report into a PIA crash that killed 97 people last month found the cause to be human error by the pilot and air traffic control.
Pakistan’s Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, expressed astonishment over the preliminary investigation report of the PIA plane crash, saying that pilots flying planes with fake degrees was like propelling a missile that could “crash anywhere, anytime”.
Heading a five-member larger bench that was hearing a suo motu case on combating the COVID-19 on Thursday, Justice Gulzar also took notice of reports about pilots with fake degrees and fake licenses issued by Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) flying planes in airlines.
The Pak chief justice summoned the chief executive officer (CEO) of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) as well as the relevant officials of the CAA on the next date of hearing to provide clarification on the matter.
“It is the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) which issued fake degrees and licenses to pilots,” Justice Gulzar remarked. The court summoned Director General DG Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to appear before it in person on the next date of the hearing and to explain as to why the authority was issuing licenses to pilots.
The DG CAA will be asked to explain how such pilots were employed by airlines in Pakistan, who are playing havoc with the lives of people and which is a serious offence to the law.
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